Fowl-plucking machine



Sept. 10, 1929. P. A. McTERNEY 1,727,352

FOWL PLUCKING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet -l E m Ivzvfok PEEC/ mud/7 Tee/vs) 2 4 TTORNEY Sept. 10, 1929. P. A. M TERNEYFOWL PLUCKING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTO uPatented Sept. 10, 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

PEROIVAL A. MOTEBNEY, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK.

FOWL-PLUGKING MACHINE.

Application filed April 18, 1928.

This invention relates to plucking devices and has more specialreference to devices for removing the feathers from poultry.

Comprehensivel stated, the invention comprises relative y moving membershaving slots adapted to be brought intoregistry with each other andmechanism for moving the object to be plucked relatively to these slots.

More specifically stated, the invention comprises concentriccylindershaving longitudinally disposed slots, the cylinders movingrelatively to each other and with a vacuum producing chamber or jacketsurrounding one of these cylinders so as to produce an outward currentof air through the slots of the cylinders when they come into registrywith each other to suck the feathers into said slots whereby thefeathers are caught between the edges of the relatively moving slots andremoved.

In the drawings accompanying this specification one embodiment of theinvention is shown although it is to be understood such embodiment ismerely for the purpose of affording a clear understanding of theunderlying principles of the invention without limiting the invention tothe specific details shown therein.

In said drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the invention partlyfragmentary.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the outer cylinder. 1

Fig. at is a vertical section of the inner cylinder.

Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 1 at right angles to the longitudinal axis.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section of a portion of the slots of thecylinders shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 7 is a' side elevation of a modification also partly fragmentary.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary end view of the construction shown in Fig. 7 andFig. 9 is a detailed sectional view of the vacuum chamber and pluckingmembers of the construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Referringmore specifically to the drawings,

and more especially to Figs. 1 to 6, a cylindri- Serial No. 270,893.

cal member indicated in its entirety by A comprises preferably anannular vacuum jacket A having an outlet A, leading to any con venientform of suction producing apparatus which will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art. One end of the cylinder A may be andpreferably is provided with a cover D for permitting the object to beplaced in an inner cylinder and to close the end of the outer cylinder Awhen theobject is in place so that an appreciable vacuum ma be producedin the jacket A and within t e device. The inner cylindrical wall of thejacket A in the specific embodiment illustrated, forms a stationarycylinder indicated in its entirety by B, has a plurality oflongitudinally disposed openings E each of which may be provided with acomb edge F on one side thereof, although the comb edge is notabsolutely essential. This stationary cylinder B has a sleeve Esupported in a suitable bracket. Concentrically mounted within thecylinder B is a second or inner cylinder G having a plurality oflongitudinally disposed openings or slots 'H, preferably provided withcomb edges H, the comb edges not being absolutely essential but if used,being oppositely disposed the comb edge F of the outer cylinder so thatwhen the inner cylinder is rotated relatively to the stationary outercylinder the feathers may be caught between the oppositely pointedcombs, the feathers also partly wedging in the interstices betweenadjacent teeth.

The inner cylinder G has a sleeve G extending from one end andjournalled in the sleeve E of the cylinder B. The sleeve G of the innercylinder is suitably rotated in any convenient manner as for example, bythe pulley' K which may be keyed to the sleeve G in any suitable manner.

In order to afford means for moving the object from one end of thecylinder to the other and thus move it relatively to the slots, ahelical conveyor L is carried by a suitable journal or axle journalledin the sleeve G and which is driven in any convenient manner as forexample by the pulley wheel J.

In using the device the cover D is removed, the object placed at one endof the conveyor L and is carried bythe conveyor in a lateral directionfrom one end of the cylinder G to the other when the pulley J isrotated. The object may be carried back and forth in the cylinder byreversing the direction of rotation of the pulley J and the conveyor Las will be readily understood and as will be more fully explained inconnection with the description of Figs. 7 to 9. The inner cylinder Grissimultaneously rotated tumbling the object some what around in thecylinder so as to present I new surfaces of'the object in the region ofthe .stri1ction to a great extent.

chamber P has an outlet P connected to 9,

slots H. -This tumbling is efiected because the grip of the feathersduring the plucking step will jerk the body of the fowl around slightlyas will the movement of the cylinder. When the slot H of the rotatingcylinder comes in registry with slot E of the inner wall of cylinder Bthe air suction created through the registering slots pulls the feathersinto the slots H and E and the further rotation of the cylinder and itsslot H relatively to the cylinder B and its slot E forces the feathersprojecting into the slots out and into the vacuum. chamber A. Eventuallythey pass into outlet A". The vacuum chamber A may of course be providedwith an opening to permit the removal of feathers which have not beendrawn into the outlet A.

In the modification shown in Figs. 7 8 and 9, a cylindrical member Msimilar to the cylindrical member A shown in Fig. 1 has a hinged door N.The member M has a similar internal arrangement of concentric cylinderssimilar to the cylinders E and H as shown in Fig. 2. However, instead ofa concentric vacuum chamber such as A as shown in Fig. 2 entirelyjacketing the member M, the vacuum chamber P is located at the bottom ofthe cylinder M, thereby simplifying the con- The vacuum vacuum producingmember or blower Q, the vacuum producing member Q in turn being drivenby a motor R or other suitable drive member. The motor R also drives aworm gear R. A reducing gear S engages the worm gear and has a pinion Skeyed thereto in any suitable manner. The pinion S drives the gear Vwhich is in turn secured to the sleeve G of the inner cylinder which issimilar to the cylinder H. The shaft carrying pinion S also operates abell crank or rocker arm arrangement T which rocks a gear T which inturn rotates a pinion U in opposite directions as will be readilyunderstood. The pinion U is keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft ofthe helical conveyer L and the purpose of the rocker gear arrangement isto rotate the conveyer L in one direction a predetermined number ofrevolutions and then to reverse its direction so that the objectintroduced into the inner cylinder of chamber M will be moved backwardsand forwards in a longitudinal direction.

Instead of the feathers being caught between opposed comb teeth of theconcentric cylinders as shown in Fig. 2, a modified arrangement is shownin Fig. 9 in the formof V a swinging plate Y pressed by the spring Z inan upward direction so as to strike the edge W of the inner cylinder G.The member Y is normally in the position shown in Fig. 9 and when theinner cylinder is rotated in the direction of the arrow the edge \V ofthe inner cylinder strikes the plate Y and clamps the feathers betweenthe face 1V and the face of the plate Y. The further movement of theinner cylinder pushes the plate Y backward about its pivot point Y untilit slides off the face l/V and permits the inner cylinder to continueits rotation. The outer cylinder in this figure is designated X andcorresponds to the wall E of the structure shown in Fig. 1 and has awall X forming the vacuum chamber P.

When tumbling is mentioned in the claims an irregular movement which islargely determined by chance, is meant.

It'is claimed 1. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combiningplucking mechanism with means comprising a rotary conveyor to move theobject relatively to the plucking mechanism and means to raise thefeathers from the body of the fowl to a position where they may beplucked.

2. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining feat-hergripping means, a hollow member to receive the object to be pluckedwithin it having a slot and means to create a draft of air outwardlythrough said slot.

3. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a plurality ofcylinders one of which is adapted to receive the object to be pluckedwithin it, each having a slot and means to move one of the cylindersrelatively to another.

Y 4. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a hollowmoving member adapted to receive the object to be plucked within it,having a slot edge and yielding means adapted to be struck by the edgeof said slot on movement of the member to grip the feathers between theedge and the yielding means.

5. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a movableguiding element on which the object to be plucked is adapted to rest,the movable element having a slot and a stationary element having aslot, the slot of the movable element being adapted to be brought intoregistry with the slot of the stationary element and means for forcingthe feathers into the slots when they are in registry.

6. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining guidingelement on which the object to be plucked is adapted to rest, theelement having a slot and a second element having a slot, the slot ofthe first element being adapted to be brought into registry with theslot of the second element and means for forcing the feathers into theslots when they are in registry.

7. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combinin a movableguiding element on which the object to be plucked is adapted to rest,the movable element having a slot and a stationary element having aslot, the slot of the movable element being adapted to be brought intoregistry with the slot of the stationary element and means for forcingthe feathers into the slots when they are in registry.

8. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining fowl pluckingmechanism combining a stationary element and a movable element on whichthe object to be plucked is adapted to rest, the movable element havinga slot and sliding over the stationary element and means for forcing thefeathers into the slots when they are in registry.

9. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a hollowmoving member adapted to contain the body to be plucked having a slotedge and a hinged member adapted to be struck by the edge of said sloton movement of the member.

10. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a hollowmember in which the object is adapted to be placed, the hollow memberhaving an opening, means to create an air draft through said opening andfeather gripping means adapted to coact with the opening in the hollowmember.

11. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl which comprises amovable memher having an edge, a second member having an edge, the edgeof the first named member striking the edge of the second member toclamp the feathers between the edges and means for the second member topermit the edge of the second member to slide in a sidewise directionrelatively to the edge of the first named member to change the plane ofthe two members.

12. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining feathergripping means, a confining member for supporting the object to beplucked along which said object may slide freely, said member having anopening near its bottom so that the object will normally slide to aposition adjacent to the opening, means to pull the feathers into theopening where they may be gripped by the gripping means and means tomove said object relatively to the confining member.

13. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a rotatingcylinder having a slot, the cylinder being adapted to re- .ceive theobject Within it, means to rotate the cylinder so that the slot willintermittent ly pass in close proximity with the object, and npeans tocause the feathers to project into the s 0t.

14:. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a feathergripping means, a surface on which the object rests, means to move theobject relatively to the gripping means, and means to raise the feathersto a device where they may be gripped by the gripping means, the feathergripping means when in feather gripping position lying in a constantplane.

15. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl combining a member onwhich the fowl is adapted to rest, said member having an opening intowhich only the feathers are adapted to protrude, means to grip theprotruding feathers and means to move the ob ject to be pluckedrelatively to the plucking mechanism.

16. A device for plucking the feathers from fowl, combining grippingmeans, an arcuate confining member along which the object may freelyslide and having an opening near the bottom so that the object willnormal- 1y take a position adjacent to the opening, and means to pullthe feathers into the opening where they may be gripped by the grippingmeans.

17. A fowl plucking device combining a pair of members adapted to cometogether so as to clamp the feathers between them, means to raise thefeathers to a position where they may be gripped, means for supportingthe fowl and means whereby the gripping means may operate on differentportions of the fowl,

the gripping position of the gripping means being invariable withrespect to the supporting means.

18. A fowl plucking device combining feather grippin means, means tosupport the object to be pluc (ed, means whereby the gripping means mayoperate on different portions of the fowl, the last named means comprehending a pusher member adapted to bear against the object and means toraise the feathers to a position where they may be gripped.

19. A plucking device combining feather gripping means, means to raisethe feathers to a position where they may be gripped and means to tumblethe object around whereby the gripping means may grip the feathers ondifferent portions of the object.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this31st day of March, 1928.

PERCIVAL A. MoTERNEY.

